Mobile terminal and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal capable of carrying out time counting to execute a control function, and a control method thereof. The mobile terminal includes a display unit, and a controller configured to continuously display counting information for guiding the time counting on at least a part of an edge area of a display unit for a predetermined time when the time counting is executed in association with a terminal operation, and execute a control function associated with the terminal operation after a lapse of the predetermined time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No.10-2013-0139409, filed on Nov. 15, 2013, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

This specification relates to a mobile terminal having a side displayunit.

2. Background of the Disclosure

Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationaryterminals according to their mobility. Also, the mobile terminals may beclassified into handheld terminals and vehicle mount terminals accordingto whether or not a user can directly carry.

As it becomes multifunctional, a mobile terminal can be allowed tocapture still images or moving images, play music or video files, playgames, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as anintegrated multimedia player.

Efforts are ongoing to support and increase the functionality of mobileterminals. Such efforts include software and hardware improvements. Asone example, a user interface environment for allowing a user to searchfor or select functions easily and conveniently is provided.

Furthermore, as a mobile terminal is considered as a personal belongingfor expressing one's own personality, various design forms are required.The design forms include structural changes and improvements for theuser to more conveniently use the mobile terminal. As one of thestructural changes and improvements, a side display unit and a userinterface using it may be taken into account.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Therefore, an aspect of the detailed description is to provide a mobileterminal capable of outputting time counting using a side display unit.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a mobileterminal capable of outputting a user notification and a user inputwhich have a different form from the related art.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, thereis provided a mobile terminal including a main body having a frontsurface and side surfaces, a display unit having a first area disposedon the front surface, and a second area extending from the first areaand disposed on the side surfaces, and configured to output an executionscreen in response to an execution of a function on at least one of thefirst and second areas, and a controller configured to execute timecounting associated with the execution screen when a touch is applied tothe second area while the execution screen is output, output countinginformation on the second area to inform the progressing of the timecounting, and process the function related to the execution screen whenthe time counting is completed.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the controller may set apredetermined time based on a touch point of the touch applied to thesecond area, and execute the time counting for the set predeterminedtime.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, an image whose size isgradually changed according to a lapse of time may be generated on thesecond area, and the counting information may be displayed within theimage.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the image may be processedin a different manner according to the touch point.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the second area mayinclude a left area and a right area disposed on left and right sidesurfaces of the main body, respectively, and the counting informationmay be output on at least one of the left area and the right area.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, while first countinginformation corresponding to a first function is output on one of theleft area and the right area, the controller may output second countinginformation corresponding to a second function on the other when a newtouch is applied to the other area.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the mobile terminal mayfurther include a camera disposed on the main body. The execution screenmay be an execution screen for executing a function related to thecamera. The controller may execute the time counting for executing aself-timer when a touch is applied to the second area, and capture animage caught on the camera when the time counting is completed.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the execution screen maybe an execution screen for executing a function related to an alarm, andthe controller may set an alarm and execute time counting of the setalarm when a touch is applied to the second area.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, when an application whichis different from an application associated with the execution screen isactivated while the counting information is output, an execution screenof the different application may be output on the first area.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the controller may stopthe time counting and may not display the counting information whentouch inputs, which are continuously applied to the second area with atime interval, are sensed.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the first area may bedeactivated and the counting information may be continuously displayedon the second area when the front surface is covered with an objectwhile the counting information is displayed.

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, there isprovided a mobile terminal including a display, and a controllerconfigured to continuously display counting information for showing timecounting on at least a part of an edge area of the display unit for apredetermined time when the time counting is executed in associationwith a terminal operation, and execute a control function associatedwith the terminal operation after the lapse of the predetermined time.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the controller mayvisually change the displayed counting information in cooperation with atime counted.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the counting informationmay be changed according to a length of a time counted.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the display unit may bedivided into a first area for displaying the counting information, and asecond area not displaying the counting information, and the first areamay extend along at least one side of the display unit.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the first area may includea left area and a right area disposed on left and right side surfaces ofthe main body, respectively, and the counting information may be outputon at least one of the left area and the right area.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the counting informationmay include first counting information and second counting information,each of which is counted for a different time, and the first countinginformation and the second counting information may be output on theleft area and the right area, respectively.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the mobile terminal mayfurther include a cover configured to be coupled to the main body to berotatable between a first state of being disposed to cover the frontsurface of the main body and a second state of being disposed inparallel to the front surface. The controller may output the countinginformation on the first area and deactivate the second area in thefirst state.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the counting informationmay correspond to a remaining time to be counted for executing thecontrol function, and the controller may reset the remaining time basedon a touch point when a touch is applied to the second area while thecounting information is output.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the counting informationmay be changed according to a length of the reset remaining time.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the controller may resetthe predetermined time based on an applied input when a pinch-in or apinch-out input is applied to the first area while the countinginformation is output.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the second area may bedisposed on the front surface of the main body, and the first area mayextend from the second area and be disposed on side surfaces of the mainbody.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the controller may executethe time counting in order to execute a sleep mode for deactivating thedisplay unit, and deactivate the display unit when a user input has notbeen applied for the predetermined time.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the mobile terminal mayfurther include a camera. The display unit may output an image capturedby the camera. The controller may execute the time counting forexecuting a self-timer, and capture an image caught on the camera afterthe lapse of the predetermined time.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the time counting may beexecuted when a touch is applied to one point of an edge area of thedisplay unit which outputs the image captured by the camera.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the predetermined time maybe set differently according to the touch-applied point.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the controller may executea first capturing after a lapse of a first time corresponding to a pointwhere a first touch is applied and execute a second capturing after alapse of a second time corresponding to a point where a second touch isapplied when the first touch is applied to one side of the display unitand continuously the second touch is applied to another side of thedisplay unit.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, thereis provided a control method of a mobile terminal including displayingan execution screen in response to an activation of a function on atleast one of first and second areas using a display unit, which includesthe first area disposed on a front surface of a main body, and thesecond area extending from the first area and disposed on side surfacesof the main body, sensing a touch applied to the second area while theexecution screen is displayed, executing time counting associated withthe execution screen in response to the sensed touch and displayingcounting information informing the progressing of the time counting onthe second area, and processing the function associated with theexecution screen when the time counting is completed.

Also, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein,there is provided a control method of a mobile terminal includingexecuting time counting in association with a terminal operation,continuously displaying counting information on at least a part of anedge region of the display unit for a predetermined time so as to showthe time counting, and executing a control function associated with theterminal operation when the predetermined time elapses.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the continuous displayingof the counting information for the predetermined time may be configuredto visually change the displayed counting information as the time iscounted.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the display unit may bedivided into a first area for displaying the counting information, and asecond area not displaying the counting information, and the first areamay extend along at least one side of the display unit.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the second area may bedisposed on the front surface of the main body, and the first area mayextend from the second area and be disposed on side surfaces of the mainbody.

In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, the counting informationmay correspond to a remaining time to be counted for executing thecontrol function, and the controller may reset the remaining time basedon a touch point when a touch is applied to the first area while thecounting information is output.

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, a mobileterminal may provide counting information related to time counting in achanging manner according to a lapse of time when the time counting isexecuted in association with a terminal operation. Therefore, a user mayuse a user interface which allows for briefly checking the time countingwhich is ongoing in the mobile terminal.

Also, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, amobile terminal may execute a control function after a lapse of apredetermined time, in response to a touch applied to an edge area ofthe display unit. That is, a time mode in which a function is executedafter a predetermined time elapses may be executed by a simple touchoperation. Therefore, the user may activate the time mode merely bytouching one point of the edge of the display unit. Here, the activatedcontrol function may be changed according to an application which hasbeen run just before the touch is applied.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will becomemore apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,it should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are conceptual views of a communication system operablewith the mobile terminal in accordance with the one exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of one example of a mobile terminalin accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal illustrated inFIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for a mobileterminal in accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating the control method of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a method of displaying countinginformation in a mobile terminal in accordance with one exemplaryembodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of executing time countingin a mobile terminal in accordance with one exemplary embodimentdisclosed herein;

FIGS. 8, 9A, 9B and 10 are exemplary views for illustrating the controlmethod of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a method of setting a time as a criterionof time counting based on a user input in a mobile terminal inaccordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C are views illustrating a method of displaying aplurality of counting information in a mobile terminal in accordancewith one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 14A and 14B are views illustrating a method of changingcounting information in a mobile terminal in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a method of outputting countinginformation in a mobile terminal, which has a display unit partiallybent, in accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein; and

FIGS. 16A, 16B and 16C are views illustrating a method of changing a setvalue related to an execution screen based upon a user input in a mobileterminal in accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and thesame or similar elements are designated with the same numeral referencesregardless of the numerals in the drawings and their redundantdescription will be omitted. In addition, a suffix “module” or “unit”used for constituent elements disclosed in the following description ismerely intended for easy description of the specification, and thesuffix itself does not give any special meaning or function. Indescribing the present invention, moreover, the detailed descriptionwill be omitted when a specific description for publicly knowntechnologies to which the invention pertains is judged to obscure thegist of the present invention. Also, it should be noted that theaccompanying drawings are merely illustrated to easily explain thespirit of the invention, and therefore, they should not be construed tolimit the spirit of the invention by the accompanying drawings.

Mobile terminals may be implemented using a variety of different typesof terminals. Examples of such terminals include mobile terminals, suchas mobile phones, smart phones, notebook computers, digital broadcastterminals, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), Portable MultimediaPlayers (PMP), navigators, slate PCs, tablet PCs, ultrabooks, and thelike, and stationary terminals, such as digital TVs, desktop computersand the like. However, it can be easily understood by those skilled inthe art that the configuration according to the following descriptioncan be applied to the stationary terminals except for componentsparticularly provided for mobility.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment.

The mobile terminal 100 may include a wireless communication unit 110,an Audio/Video (NV) input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensingunit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, an interface unit 170, acontroller 180, a power supply unit 190, and the like. However, all ofthe elements as illustrated in FIG. 1 are not necessarily required, andthe mobile terminal may be implemented with greater or less number ofelements than those illustrated elements.

Hereinafter, the constituent elements will be described in turn.

The wireless communication unit 110 may typically include one or morecomponents which permit wireless communications between the mobileterminal 100 and a wireless communication system or between the mobileterminal 100 and a network within which the mobile terminal 100 islocated. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include abroadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, awireless internet module 113, a short-range communication module 114, aposition location module 115 and the like.

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast associated information from an external broadcast managingentity via a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrialchannel. The broadcast managing entity may indicate a server whichgenerates and transmits a broadcast signal and/or broadcast associatedinformation or a server which receives a pre-generated broadcast signaland/or broadcast associated information and sends them to the mobileterminal. The broadcast signal may be implemented as a TV broadcastsignal, a radio broadcast signal, and a data broadcast signal, amongothers. The broadcast signal may further include a data broadcast signalcombined with a TV or radio broadcast signal.

Examples of the broadcast associated information may include informationassociated with a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, a broadcastservice provider, or the like. The broadcast associated information mayalso be provided via a mobile communication network, and, in this case,received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast associated information may be implemented in variousformats. For instance, broadcast associated information may includeElectronic Program Guide (EPG) of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB),Electronic Service Guide (ESG) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld(DVB-H), and the like.

The broadcast receiving module 111 may be configured to receive digitalbroadcast signals transmitted from various types of broadcast systems.Such broadcast systems may include Digital MultimediaBroadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), Digital MultimediaBroadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), Media Forward Link Only (MediaFLO),Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H), Integrated Services DigitalBroadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T), and the like. The broadcast receivingmodule 111 may be configured to be suitable for every broadcast systemtransmitting broadcast signals as well as the digital broadcastingsystems.

Broadcast signals and/or broadcast associated information received viathe broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in a suitable device,such as a memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits/receives wireless signalsto/from at least one of network entities (e.g., base station, anexternal mobile terminal, a server, etc.) on a mobile communicationnetwork. Here, the wireless signals may include audio call signal, videocall signal, or various formats of data according totransmission/reception of text/multimedia messages.

The mobile communication module 112 may implement a video (telephony)call mode and a voice call mode. The video call mode indicates a stateof calling with watching a callee's image. The voice call mode indicatesa state of calling without watching the callee's image. The wirelesscommunication module 112 may transmit and receive at least one of voiceand image in order to implement the video call mode and the voice callmode.

The wireless Internet module 113 denotes a module for wireless Internetaccess. This module may be internally or externally coupled to themobile terminal 100. Examples of such wireless Internet access mayinclude Wireless LAN (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Direct, DigitalLiving Network Alliance (DLNA), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), High Speed DownlinkPacket Access (HSDPA) and the like.

The short-range communication module 114 denotes a module forshort-range communications. Suitable technologies for implementing thismodule may include BLUETOOTH™, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID),Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra-WideBand (UWB), ZigBee, NearField Communication (NFC) and the like.

The location information module 115 denotes a module for detecting orcalculating a position of the mobile terminal. An example of thelocation information module 115 may include a Global Position System(GPS) module or a WiFi module.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the NV input unit 120 may be configured toprovide an audio or video signal input to the mobile terminal. The A/Vinput unit 120 may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera121 may receive and process image frames of still pictures or videoobtained by image sensors in a video call mode or a capture mode. Theprocessed image frames may be displayed on a display unit 151.

The image frames processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory160 or transmitted to an external device via the wireless communicationunit 110. Also, user's position information and the like may becalculated from the image frames acquired by the camera 121. Two or morecameras 121 may be provided according to the configuration of the mobileterminal.

The microphone 122 may receive an external audio signal while the mobileterminal is in a particular mode, such as a phone call mode, a recordingmode, a voice recognition mode, or the like. This audio signal may thenbe processed into digital data. The processed digital data may beconverted for output into a format transmittable to a mobilecommunication base station via the mobile communication module 112 incase of the phone call mode. The microphone 122 may include assortednoise removing algorithms to remove noise generated in the course ofreceiving the external audio signal.

The user input unit 130 may generate data input by a user to control theoperation of the mobile terminal. The user input unit 130 may include akeypad, a dome switch, a touchpad (e.g., static pressure/capacitance), ajog wheel, a jog switch and the like.

The sensing unit 140 may provide status measurements of various aspectsof the mobile terminal. For instance, the sensing unit 140 may detect anopen/close status of the mobile terminal 100, a location of the mobileterminal 100, a presence or absence of user contact with the mobileterminal 100, an orientation of the mobile terminal 100,acceleration/deceleration of the mobile terminal 100, and the like, soas to generate a sensing signal for controlling the operation of themobile terminal 100. For example, regarding a slide phone type mobileterminal, the sensing unit 140 may sense whether the slide phone typemobile terminal is open or closed. Other examples may include sensingstatuses, the presence or absence of power provided by the power supply190, the presence or absence of a coupling or other connection betweenthe interface unit 170 and an external device, and the like.

The output unit 150 may be configured to output an audio signal, a videosignal or a tactile signal. The output unit 150 may include a displayunit 151, an audio output module 153, an alarm unit 154 and a hapticmodule 155.

The display unit 151 may output information processed in the mobileterminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal is operating in aphone call mode, the display unit 151 may provide a User Interface (UI)or a Graphic User Interface (GUI), which includes information associatedwith the call. As another example, if the mobile terminal is in a videocall mode or a capture mode, the display unit 151 may additionally oralternatively display images captured and/or received, UI, or GUI.

The display unit 151 may be implemented using, for example, at least oneof a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Thin Film Transistor-Liquid CrystalDisplay (TFT-LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), a flexibledisplay, a three-dimensional (3D) display, an e-ink display and thelike.

Some of such displays may be implemented as a transparent type or anoptical transparent type through which the exterior is visible, which isreferred to as a transparent display. A representative example of thetransparent display may include a Transparent OLED (TOLED), or the like.The rear surface of the display unit 151 may also be implemented to beoptically transparent. Under this configuration, a user can view anobject positioned at a rear side of a terminal body through a regionoccupied by the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

The display unit 151 may be implemented in two or more in numberaccording to a configured aspect of the mobile terminal 100. Forinstance, a plurality of the display units 151 may be arranged on onesurface to be spaced apart from or integrated with each other, or may bearranged on different surfaces.

The display unit 151 may also be implemented as a stereoscopic displayunit 152 for displaying stereoscopic images.

Here, the stereoscopic image may be a three-dimensional (3D)stereoscopic image. The 3D stereoscopic image refers to an image makinga viewer feel that a gradual depth and reality of an object on a monitoror a screen is the same as a realistic space. The 3D stereoscopic imagemay be implemented by using binocular disparity. Binocular disparityrefers to disparity made by the positions of two eyes. When two eyesview different 2D images, the images are transferred to the brainthrough the retina and combined in the brain to provide the perceptionof depth and reality sense.

The stereoscopic display unit 152 may employ a stereoscopic displayscheme such as stereoscopic scheme (a glass scheme), anauto-stereoscopic scheme (glassless scheme), a projection scheme(holographic scheme), or the like. Stereoscopic schemes commonly usedfor home television receivers, or the like, may include Wheatstonestereoscopic scheme, or the like.

The auto-stereoscopic scheme may include, for example, a parallaxbarrier scheme, a lenticular scheme, an integral imaging scheme, aswitchable lens, or the like. The projection scheme may include areflective holographic scheme, a transmissive holographic scheme, andthe like.

In general, a 3D stereoscopic image may be comprised of a left image (aleft eye image) and a right image (a right eye image). According to howleft and right images are combined into a 3D stereoscopic image, a 3Dstereoscopic imaging method may be divided into a top-down method inwhich left and right images are disposed up and down in a frame, anL-to-R (left-to-right or side by side) method in which left and rightimages are disposed left and right in a frame, a checker board method inwhich fragments of left and right images are disposed in a tile form, aninterlaced method in which left and right images are alternatelydisposed by columns or rows, and a time sequential (or frame by frame)method in which left and right images are alternately displayed on atime basis.

Also, as for a 3D thumbnail image, a left image thumbnail and a rightimage thumbnail may be generated from a left image and a right image ofan original image frame, respectively, and then combined to generate asingle 3D thumbnail image. In general, thumbnail refers to a reducedimage or a reduced still image. The thusly generated left imagethumbnail and the right image thumbnail may be displayed with ahorizontal distance difference therebetween by a depth corresponding tothe disparity between the left image and the right image on the screen,providing a stereoscopic space sense.

A left image and a right image required for implementing a 3Dstereoscopic image may be displayed on the stereoscopic display unit 152by a stereoscopic processing unit (not shown). The stereoscopicprocessing unit may receive the 3D image and extract the left image andthe right image, or may receive the 2D image and change it into a leftimage and a right image.

Here, if the display unit 151 and a touch sensitive sensor (referred toas a ‘touch sensor’) have a layered structure therebetween (referred toas a ‘touch screen’), the display unit 151 may be used as an inputdevice as well as an output device. The touch sensor may be implementedas a touch film, a touch sheet, a touchpad, and the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert changes of pressureapplied to a specific part of the display unit 151, or a capacitanceoccurring from a specific part of the display unit 151, into electricinput signals. Also, the touch sensor may be configured to sense notonly a touched position and a touched area, but also touch pressure.Here, a touch object is an object to apply a touch input onto the touchsensor. Examples of the touch object may include a finger, a touch pen,a stylus pen, a pointer or the like.

When touch inputs are sensed by the touch sensors, corresponding signalsmay be transmitted to a touch controller. The touch controller mayprocess the received signals, and then transmit corresponding data tothe controller 180. Accordingly, the controller 180 may sense whichregion of the display unit 151 has been touched.

Still referring to FIG. 1, a proximity sensor 141 may be arranged at aninner region of the mobile terminal covered by the touch screen, or nearthe touch screen. The proximity sensor 141 may be provided as oneexample of the sensing unit 140. The proximity sensor 141 refers to asensor to sense presence or absence of an object approaching to asurface to be sensed, or an object disposed near a surface to be sensed,by using an electromagnetic field or infrared rays without a mechanicalcontact. The proximity sensor 141 may have a longer lifespan and a moreenhanced utility than a contact sensor.

The proximity sensor 141 may include a transmissive type photoelectricsensor, a direct reflective type photoelectric sensor, a mirrorreflective type photoelectric sensor, a high-frequency oscillationproximity sensor, a capacitance type proximity sensor, a magnetic typeproximity sensor, an infrared rays proximity sensor, and so on. When thetouch screen is implemented as a capacitance type, proximity of apointer to the touch screen may be sensed by changes of anelectromagnetic field. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) maybe categorized into a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for the sake of brief explanation, a status that thepointer is positioned to be proximate onto the touch screen withoutcontact will be referred to as ‘proximity touch’, whereas a status thatthe pointer substantially comes in contact with the touch screen will bereferred to as ‘contact touch’. For the position corresponding to theproximity touch of the pointer on the touch screen, such position willcorrespond to a position where the pointer faces perpendicular to thetouch screen upon the proximity touch of the pointer.

The proximity sensor 141 may sense proximity touch, and proximity touchpatterns (e.g., distance, direction, speed, time, position, movingstatus, etc.). Information relating to the sensed proximity touch andthe sensed proximity touch patterns may be output onto the touch screen.

When a touch sensor is overlaid on the stereoscopic display unit 152 ina layered manner (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘stereoscopic touchscreen’), or when the stereoscopic display unit 152 and a 3D sensorsensing a touch operation are combined, the stereoscopic display unit152 may also be used as a 3D input device.

As examples of the 3D sensor, the sensing unit 140 may include aproximity sensor 141, a stereoscopic touch sensing unit 142, anultrasonic sensing unit 143, and a camera sensing unit 144.

The proximity sensor 141 may detect the distance between a sensingobject (for example, the user's finger or a stylus pen), applying atouch by using the force of electromagnetism or infrared rays without amechanical contact, and a detect surface. By using the distance, theterminal may recognize which portion of a stereoscopic image has beentouched. In particular, when the touch screen is an electrostatic touchscreen, the degree of proximity of the sensing object may be detectedbased on a change of an electric field according to proximity of thesensing object, and a touch to the 3D image may be recognized by usingthe degree of proximity.

The stereoscopic touch sensing unit 142 may be configured to detect thestrength or duration of a touch applied to the touch screen. Forexample, the stereoscopic touch sensing unit 142 may sense touchpressure. When the pressure is strong, it may recognize the touch as atouch with respect to an object located farther away from the touchscreen toward the inside of the terminal.

The ultrasonic sensing unit 143 may be configured to recognize positioninformation relating to the sensing object by using ultrasonic waves.

The ultrasonic sensing unit 143 may include, for example, an opticalsensor and a plurality of ultrasonic sensors. The optical sensor may beconfigured to sense light and the ultrasonic sensors may be configuredto sense ultrasonic waves. Since light is much faster than ultrasonicwaves, a time for which the light reaches the optical sensor may be muchshorter than a time for which the ultrasonic wave reaches the ultrasonicsensor. Therefore, a position of a wave generation source may becalculated by using a time difference from the time that the ultrasonicwave reaches based on the light as a reference signal.

The camera sensing unit 144 may include at least one of the camera 121,a photo sensor, and a laser sensor.

For example, the camera 121 and the laser sensor may be combined todetect a touch of the sensing object with respect to a 3D stereoscopicimage. When distance information detected by a laser sensor is added toa 2D image captured by the camera, 3D information can be obtained.

In another example, a photo sensor may be laminated on the displaydevice. The photo sensor may be configured to scan a movement of thesensing object in proximity to the touch screen. In more detail, thephoto sensor may include photo diodes and transistors at rows andcolumns to scan content mounted on the photo sensor by using anelectrical signal changing according to the quantity of applied light.Namely, the photo sensor may calculate the coordinates of the sensingobject according to variation of light to thus obtain positioninformation of the sensing object.

The audio output module 153 may output audio data received from thewireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a callsignal reception mode, a call mode, a record mode, a voice recognitionmode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. Also, the audio outputmodule 153 may provide audible output signals related to a particularfunction (e.g., a call signal reception sound, a message receptionsound, etc.) performed by the mobile terminal 100. The audio outputmodule 153 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer or the like.

The alarm unit 154 may output a signal for informing about an occurrenceof an event of the mobile terminal 100. Events generated in the mobileterminal, for example, may include call signal reception, messagereception, key signal as inputs, a touch input, etc. In addition tovideo or audio signals, the alarm unit 154 may output signals in adifferent manner, for example, using vibration to inform of anoccurrence of an event. The video or audio signals may also be outputvia the display unit 151 and the audio output module 153. Hence, thedisplay unit 151 and the audio output module 153 may be classified asparts of the alarm unit 154.

A haptic module 155 may generate various tactile effects the that usermay feel. A typical example of the tactile effect generated by thehaptic module 155 is vibration. Strength, pattern and the like of thevibration generated by the haptic module 155 may be controllable by auser selection or setting of the controller. For example, differentvibrations may be combined to be outputted or sequentially outputted.

Besides vibration, the haptic module 155 may generate various othertactile effects, including an effect by stimulation such as a pinarrangement vertically moving with respect to a contact skin, a sprayforce or suction force of air through a jet orifice or a suctionopening, a touch on the skin, a contact of an electrode, electrostaticforce, etc., an effect by reproducing the sense of cold and warmth usingan element that can absorb or generate heat, and the like.

The haptic module 155 may be implemented to allow the user to feel atactile effect through a muscle sensation such as the user's fingers orarm, as well as transferring the tactile effect through a directcontact. Two or more haptic modules 155 may be provided according to theconfiguration of the mobile terminal 100.

The memory 160 may store programs used for operations performed by thecontroller, or may temporarily store input and/or output data (forexample, a phonebook, messages, still images, video, etc.). In addition,the memory 160 may store data regarding various patterns of vibrationsand audio signals output when a touch input is sensed on the touchscreen.

The memory 160 may include at least one type of storage medium includinga Flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card micro type, a card-typememory (e.g., SD or DX memory, etc), a Random Access Memory (RAM), aStatic Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), anElectrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), aProgrammable Read-Only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magneticdisk, and an optical disk. Also, the mobile terminal 100 may be operatedin relation to a web storage device that performs the storage functionof the memory 160 over the Internet.

The interface unit 170 may serve as an interface with every externaldevice connected with the mobile terminal 100. For example, theinterface unit 170 may receive data transmitted from an external device,receive power to transfer to each element within the mobile terminal100, or transmit internal data of the mobile terminal 100 to an externaldevice. For example, the interface unit 170 may include wired orwireless headset ports, external power supply ports, wired or wirelessdata ports, memory card ports, ports for connecting a device having anidentification module, audio input/output (I/O) ports, video I/O ports,earphone ports, or the like.

The identification module may be a chip that stores various informationfor authenticating authority of using the mobile terminal 100 and mayinclude a user identity module (UIM), a subscriber identity module(SIM), a universal subscriber identity module (USIM), and the like. Inaddition, the device having the identification module (referred to as‘identifying device’, hereinafter) may take the form of a smart card.Accordingly, the identifying device may be connected with the terminal100 via the interface unit 170.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected with an external cradle, theinterface unit 170 may serve as a passage to allow power from the cradleto be supplied to the mobile terminal 100 therethrough or may serve as apassage to allow various command signals input by the user from thecradle to be transferred to the mobile terminal therethrough. Variouscommand signals or power input from the cradle may operate as signalsfor recognizing that the mobile terminal is properly mounted on thecradle.

The controller 180 may typically control the general operations of themobile terminal 100. For example, the controller 180 may performcontrolling and processing associated with voice calls, datacommunications, video calls, and the like. The controller 180 mayinclude a multimedia module 181 for playbacking multimedia data. Themultimedia module 181 may be configured within the controller 180 or maybe configured to be separated from the controller 180.

The controller 180 may perform pattern recognition processing torecognize a handwriting input or a picture drawing input performed onthe touch screen as characters or images, respectively.

Also, the controller 180 may execute a lock state to restrict a userfrom inputting control commands for applications when a state of themobile terminal meets a preset condition. Also, the controller 180 maycontrol a lock screen displayed in the lock state based on a touch inputsensed on the display unit 151 in the lock state of the mobile terminal.

The power supply unit 190 may receive external power or internal powerand supply appropriate power required for operating respective elementsand components under the control of the controller 180.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable or its similar medium using, for example, software,hardware, or any combination thereof.

For hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may beimplemented by using at least one of Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital SignalProcessing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein. In some cases, such embodimentsmay be implemented by the controller 180 itself.

For software implementation, the embodiments such as procedures orfunctions described herein may be implemented by separate softwaremodules. Each software module may perform one or more functions oroperations described herein.

Software codes can be implemented by a software application written inany suitable programming language. The software codes may be stored inthe memory 160 and executed by the controller 180.

Hereinafter, a communication system which is operable with the mobileterminal 100 according to the present disclosure will be described.FIGS. 2A and 2B are conceptual views of a communication system operablewith a mobile terminal 100 in accordance with the present disclosure.

First, referring to FIG. 2A, such communication systems may utilizedifferent air interfaces and/or physical layers. Examples of such airinterfaces utilized by the communication systems may include FrequencyDivision Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA),Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) (especially, Long Term Evolution(LTE)), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

By way of non-limiting example only, further description will relate toa CDMA communication system, but such teachings may be applied equallyto other system types including the CDMA wireless communication system.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a CDMA wireless communication system is shownhaving a plurality of mobile terminals 100, a plurality of base stations(BSs) 270, a plurality of base station controllers (BSCs) 275, and amobile switching center (MSC) 280. The MSC 280 may be configured tointerface with a conventional Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN)290. The MSC 280 may also be configured to interface with the BSCs 275.The BSCs 275 may be coupled to the BSs 270 as a pair via backhaul lines.The backhaul lines may be configured in accordance with at least one ofseveral known interfaces including, for example, E1/T1, ATM, IP, PPP,Frame Relay, HDSL, ADSL, or xDSL. Hence, the plurality of BSCs 275 maybe included in the system as illustrated in FIG. 2A.

Each BS 270 may include one or more sectors, each sector having anomni-directional antenna or an antenna pointed in a particular directionradially away from the BS 270. Alternatively, each sector may includetwo or more different antennas. Each BS 270 may be configured to supporta plurality of frequency assignments, with each frequency assignmenthaving a particular spectrum (for example, 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz, etc.).

The intersection of sector and frequency assignment may be referred toas a CDMA channel. The BSs 270 may also be referred to as Base StationTransceiver Subsystems (BTSs). In some cases, the term “base station”may be used to refer collectively to one BSC 275 and at least one basestation 270. The base stations may also be denoted as “cell sites.”Alternatively, individual sectors of a given BS 270 may be referred toas cell sites.

A broadcasting transmitter (BT) 295, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, maytransmit a broadcast signal to the mobile terminals 100 operating withinthe system. The broadcast receiving module 111 illustrated in FIG. 1 maybe typically configured inside the mobile terminal 100 to receivebroadcast signals transmitted by the BT 295.

FIG. 2A further depicts several Global Positioning System (GPS)satellites 300. Such satellites 300 may facilitate locating the positionof at least one of plural mobile terminals 100. Two satellites aredepicted in FIG. 2, but it may be understood that useful positioninformation may be obtained with greater or fewer satellites than twosatellites. The GPS module 115 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be typicallyconfigured to cooperate with the satellites 300 to obtain desiredposition information. It may be appreciated that other types of positiondetection technologies, in addition to or instead of GPS locationtechnology, may alternatively be implemented. If desired, at least oneof the GPS satellites 300 may alternatively or additionally beconfigured to provide satellite DMB transmissions.

During typical operation of the wireless communication system, the BSs270 may receive sets of reverse-link signals from various mobileterminals 100. The mobile terminals 100 may be engaging in calls,messaging, and executing other communications. Each reverse-link signalreceived by a given BS 270 may be processed within that BS 270. Theresulting data may be forwarded to a connected BSC 275. The BSC 275 mayprovide call resource allocation and mobility management functionalityincluding the orchestration of soft handoffs between BSs 270. The BSCs275 may also route the received data to the MSC 280, which may thenprovide additional routing services for interfacing with the PSTN 290.Similarly, the PSTN 290 may interface with the MSC 280, and the MSC 280may interface with the BSCs 275, which may in turn control the BSs 270to transmit sets of forward-link signals to the mobile terminals 100.

Hereinafter, description will be given of a method for acquiringlocation information of a mobile terminal using a Wireless Fidelity(WiFi) Positioning System (WPS), with reference to FIG. 2B.

The WiFi positioning system (WPS) 300 refers to a positioning technologybased on a wireless local area network (WLAN) using WiFi as a technologyfor tracking the location of the mobile terminal 100 using a WiFi moduleprovided in the mobile terminal 100 and a wireless access point (AP) 320for transmitting and receiving to and from the WiFi module.

The WiFi positioning system 300 may include a WiFi locationdetermination server 310, a mobile terminal 100, a wireless access point(AP) 320 connected to the mobile terminal 100, and a database 330 storedwith any wireless AP information.

The WiFi location determination server 310 may extract the informationabout the wireless AP 320 connected to the mobile terminal 100 based ona location information request message (or signal) of the mobileterminal 100. Information related to the wireless AP 320 may betransmitted to the WiFi location determination server 310 through themobile terminal 100 or transmitted to the WiFi location determinationserver 310 from the wireless AP 320.

The information related to the wireless AP extracted based on thelocation information request message of the mobile terminal 100 may beat least one of MAC address, SSID, RSSI, channel information, privacy,network type, signal strength and noise strength.

The WiFi location determination server 310 may receive the informationof the wireless AP 320 connected to the mobile terminal 100 as describedabove, and compare the received wireless AP 320 information withinformation contained in the pre-established database 330 to extract (oranalyze) the location information of the mobile terminal 100.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 2B, as an example, wireless APsconnected to the mobile terminal 100 are illustrated as first, second,and third wireless APs 320. However, the number of wireless APsconnected to the mobile terminal 100 may be changed in various waysaccording to a wireless communication environment in which the mobileterminal 100 is located. When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to atleast one of wireless APs, the WiFi positioning system 300 can track thelocation of the mobile terminal 100.

Next, considering the database 330 stored with any wireless APinformation in more detail, various information related to any wirelessAPs disposed at different locations may be stored in the database 330.

The information related to any wireless APs stored in the database 330may be information such as a MAC address, SSID, RSSI, channelinformation, a privacy, a network type, latitude and longitudecoordinates of the wireless AP, a building at which the wireless AP islocated, a floor number, detailed indoor location information (GPScoordinates available), an AP owner's address, a phone number, and thelike.

In this manner, any wireless AP information and location informationcorresponding to the any wireless AP may be stored together in thedatabase 330, and thus the WiFi location determination server 310 mayretrieve wireless AP information corresponding to the informationrelated to the wireless AP 320 connected to the mobile terminal 100 fromthe database 330 and extract the location information matched with theretrieved wireless AP, thereby extracting location information relatedto the mobile terminal 100.

Hereinafter, a hardware configuration of the mobile terminal whichexecutes such operations of FIG. 2 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of one example of a mobile terminal200 in accordance with the present disclosure, and FIG. 3B is a rearperspective view of the mobile terminal 200 illustrated in FIG. 3A.

A mobile terminal 200 disclosed herein may be provided with a mobilephone body of a banded display only phone (DOP) type which has a displayunit 251 extending up to side surfaces of a terminal main body.

A body may include a case (or referred to as casing, housing, cover,etc.) defining an appearance of the mobile terminal 200. In thisexemplary embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 201 anda rear case 202. A space formed between the front and rear cases 201 and202 may accommodate various electronic components. At least oneintermediate case may further be disposed between the front and the rearcases 201 and 202.

Such cases may be injected using a synthetic resin or be formed of ametal, such as stainless steel (STS), titanium (Ti) or the like.

The terminal body is shown having a display unit 251, an audio outputmodule 252, a camera 221 and the like provided generally on the frontcase 201. Also, an interface unit 270, and the like may be disposed onside surfaces of the front case 201 and the rear case 202.

The display unit 251 may occupy most of a principal surface of the frontcase 201. That is, the display unit 251 may be disposed on a frontsurface of the terminal, and display visual information. The displayunit 251 disclosed herein may have a shape extending up to anothersurface of the terminal in addition to the front surface of theterminal. In more detail, the display unit 251 may include a first area251 a located on the front surface and a second area 251 b extendingfrom the first area 251 a and disposed on side surfaces of the mainbody.

For example, a window disposed on an upper surface of the display unit251 may have both side surfaces bent, and accordingly an appearance ofthe front surface and the side surfaces of the main body may be formedby the window. Hence, the first area 251 a and the second area 251 b maybe connected to each other without a physical boundary. In this case,the display unit 251 may be provided with a display device which isformed in a bent shape and mounted to correspond to the window.

In addition, the display unit 251 may be formed in such a manner that anupper end or a lower end is bent. That is, at least one of an upper end,a lower end, a left end, and a right end of the display unit 251 may bebent to be disposed on the side surfaces of the main body.

As another example, the display unit 251 may be configured as a flexibledisplay unit. The flexible display unit may include a display, which canbe bent, curved, twisted, folded, rolled by an external physical force.Here, the flexible display unit may include both a general flexibledisplay and an e-paper.

Here, the general flexible display denotes a light, non-fragile display,which still exhibits characteristics of the conventional flat paneldisplay and is fabricated on a flexible substrate which can be curved,bent, folded, or rolled.

Also, the e-paper is a display technology employing the characteristicof a general ink, and is different from the conventional flat paneldisplay in view of using reflected light. The e-paper may changepictures or characters by using a twist ball or an electrophoresis usinga capsule.

In this manner, the terminal main body, which is provided with a displayunit having both side surfaces bent due to the characteristic of aflexible material, may be configured.

An audio output module 252 and a camera module 221 may be disposed on anarea adjacent to one of both end portions of the display unit 251, and afront input unit (not illustrated) and a microphone 222 may be disposedon an area adjacent to the other end portion.

A front input unit is an example of a user input unit 130 (see FIG. 1),and may include a plurality of manipulating units. The manipulatingunits may be referred to as a manipulating portion, and various methodsand techniques can be employed for the manipulation portion so long asthey can be operated by the user in a tactile manner.

The display unit 251 may also form a touch screen together with a touchsensor, and in this case, the touch screen may be the user input unit130. This may allow for a configuration without a front input unit onthe front surface of the terminal. For this, the mobile terminal mayallow an input with respect to the main body to be manipulated onlythrough the display unit 251.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a camera module 221′ may additionally be disposedon the rear surface of the terminal body, namely, on the rear case 202.The camera module 221′ may have an image capture direction which issubstantially opposite to that of the camera module 221 (See FIG. 2A),and have a different number of pixels than the camera module 221.

For example, the camera module 221 may have a smaller number of pixelsto capture an image of the user's face and transmit such image toanother party, and the camera module 221′ may have a larger number ofpixels to capture an image of a general object and not immediatelytransmit it in most cases. The camera modules 221 and 221′ may beinstalled on the terminal body such that they can be rotatable or poppedup.

A flash and a mirror may be additionally disposed adjacent to the camera221′. When an image of a subject is captured with the camera module221′, the flash illuminates the subject. The mirror allows the user tosee himself when he wants to capture his own image (i.e., self-imagecapturing) by using the camera module 221′.

An audio output unit 252′ may be additionally disposed on the rearsurface of the terminal body. The audio output module 252′ on the rearsurface may implement stereophonic sound functions in conjunction withthe audio output module 252 (See FIG. 3A) and may be also used forimplementing a speaker phone mode for call communication.

That is, the audio output module 252 (or a first audio output module) onthe front surface of the terminal may be configured as a receiver, andthe audio output module 252′ (or a second audio output module) on therear surface may be configured as a speaker. However, the presentdisclosure may not be limited to this. The second audio output module252′ may also be disposed on a side surface of the terminal.

A power supply unit 290 for supplying power to the mobile terminal 200is mounted on the terminal body. The power supply unit 290 may beinstalled within the terminal body or may be directly attached to ordetached from the exterior of the terminal body.

As illustrated, a rear input unit 232 may be disposed on the rearsurface of the terminal body. The rear input unit 232, for example, maybe located below the camera module 221′.

The rear input unit 232 may be manipulated for allowing an input of acommand for controlling an operation of the mobile terminal 200. Contentinputted can be variably set. For example, the rear input unit 232 mayreceive a command such as starting, ending, scrolling, etc., a commandsuch as controlling of the volume of a sound outputted from the audiooutput unit 252, or conversion into a touch recognition mode of thedisplay unit 251. However, the present disclosure may not be limited tothis. The terminal may also be provided with only one of the front inputunit and the rear input unit 232.

Explaining the display unit 151 again, the display unit 151 disclosedherein may be formed to occupy even the side surfaces as well as thefront surface of the terminal, so as to implement a larger screen. Thatis, the present disclosure may provide a terminal having a front displayand a side display, so as to provide a new type of user interface usingthem. Hereinafter, description will be given in more detail of the frontdisplay, the side display and operations implemented thereby, withreference to the accompanying drawings.

Also, a mobile terminal according to one exemplary embodiment includingat least one of the aforementioned components may execute time countingin association with an operation of the terminal, and continuouslyoutput counting information on at least part of an edge area of adisplay unit 151 to show (guide or notify) the time counting for apredetermined time. That is, when the time counting for the operation ofthe terminal is started, the counting information may be displayed onthe edge area of the display unit 151. When the predetermined timeelapses, a control function related to the operation of the terminal maybe activated. Therefore, a user can intuitively recognize a time forexecuting the control function based on the counting informationdisplayed on the edge area.

Hereinafter, description will be given in detail of a mobile terminal,which outputs counting information in response to a start of timecounting, and a control method thereof, with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The same or similar elements in the exemplaryembodiments disclosed herein are designated with the same numeralreferences regardless of the numerals in the drawings and theirredundant description will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for a mobileterminal in accordance with one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in a mobile terminal according to the presentdisclosure, time counting associated with an operation of the terminalmay be started (S410).

Here, the time counting refers to counting of a time from a specifictime point in the mobile terminal. In more detail, the time countingrefers to an operation that the controller 180 sets a start time pointfor starting the counting and counts a time for a predetermined time,starting from the set start time point. The time counting may beunderstood as an operation for executing a control function associatedwith the time counting after a lapse of the predetermined time.

Meanwhile, the start time point which is a criterion of the timecounting may be set differently according to a control function to beactivated, and decided by a condition which is differently set accordingto the control function. For example, when it is required to execute asleep mode for deactivating the display unit 151, the controller 180 mayset a time point, at which the last user input has been applied, as astart time point. In another example, when an alarm application forsetting an alarm is executed, a time point at which a user input forsetting the alarm is applied may be set as the start time point.

A unit of time counted may be changed variously according to a controlfunction, and man be, for example, 1 second, 1 minute, 1 hour and thelike. The time counting may be carried out on the second basis or theminute basis. The unit may be changed according to the control function.In addition, the unit of the time counted may be changed by a userinput.

Next, when the time counting is executed in the terminal, countinginformation for showing the time counting may be continuously displayedfor a predetermined time (S430). That is, the controller 180 may outputcounting information related to a counted time on the display unit 251as soon as the time counting being executed.

In the mobile terminal 100 according to the one exemplary embodiment,the display unit 251 (see FIG. 3) may include the first area 251 a (seeFIG. 3) disposed on the front surface of the terminal main body, and thesecond area 251 b (see FIG. 3) extending from the first area 251 a anddisposed on side surfaces of the main body. The first area 251 a and thesecond area 251 b may be areas displaying different types ofinformation, and divided in response to each having a different type ofuser graphic interface (GUI). Or, the second area 251 b may refer to aportion which starts to be bent toward the side surfaces from a virtualflat surface formed by the first area 251 a, and the first and secondareas 251 a and 251 b may be divided based on the virtual flat surface.

Also, the second area 251 b may include a left area and a right arealocated on left and right side surfaces of the terminal, respectively.Therefore, the second area 251 b may have a left-right symmetricstructure based on the first area 251 a.

Here, the counting information may be displayed on the second area 251b. That is, the counting information may be displayed on at least one ofthe left area and the right area of the second area 251 b.

Meanwhile, the counting information may refer to information indicatingthat the time counting is in an activated state in the terminal. In moredetail, the counting information may be visually changed as the time iscounted. The counting information may include at least one of apredetermined time which is a criterion of the time counting (or areference time to be counted for executing a control function), a starttime point and an end time point corresponding to the predeterminedtime, a counted time from the start time point, and/or a remaining timewhich remains uncounted. For example, when the predetermined time to becounted is 1 minute and the counted time is 10 seconds, the remainingtime may be 50 seconds. The counting information may refer to everyinformation which is provided to show (guide) the time counting, and maybe implemented in various forms according to exemplary embodiments.

The counting information may be varied according to a length of a timewhich is counted. An image whose size is gradually changed as a time iscounted may be generated on the second area 251 b, and the countinginformation may be displayed within the image. For example, the imagemay be a progress bar which indicates a progressing state of the timecounting, and the progress bar may be varied according to a length ofthe time which is counted. In a more detailed example, the image may beprovided with an effect that a paper or the like is rolled as a timeelapses. And, the counting information may be displayed within theimage.

Here, the image may be a bar-type image which is long along the sidesurface of the terminal, and different images may be employed accordingto types of functions for which the time counting is executed. In oneexample, a different image may be output according to a type of afunction or according to a length of a time which is counted. Here, thedifferent image may refer to an image with a different shape, length,color or the like.

In the meantime, the controller 180 may output guide information relatedto a control function, which is to be executed after the lapse of thepredetermined time, on the display unit 251 together with the countinginformation. The guide information may include a name of the controlfunction to be executed, detailed description of the control function,and the like. For example, when the time counting is started fordeactivating the display unit 251, visual information which isimplemented in a form of image, text, icon and the like for showing thedeactivation of the display unit 251 implemented may be output togetherwith the time which is counted.

After the lapse of the predetermined time, the control functionassociated with the operation of the terminal may be executed (S450).The controller 180 may count a predetermined time which is differentlyset according to a control function, and execute the control functionassociated with the operation of the terminal when the counted timereaches the predetermined time.

Here, the control function may refer to at least one of functions whichare executable in the terminal. That is, the control function may beevery type of function which can be executed or activated in the mobileterminal. For example, one of the executable functions may be anapplication installed in the mobile terminal. The term ‘executing anarbitrary function’ may refer to ‘executing or activating an arbitraryapplication.’

The application is a conception including a widget or a home launcher,and refers to every type of program executable in the terminal.Therefore, the application may be a program which executes a function,such as a web browser, a video playback, a message transmission andreception, a schedule management, an application update, or the like.

In another example, the executable function in the mobile terminal maybe a function of generating an event. Here, the generated event may be amessage transmission event, a call-placing event, a capturing event, andthe like. On the other hand, the event may be an event generated from anapplication installed in the mobile terminal.

In another example, the executable function in the mobile terminal maybe a function which is required for a basic operation of the mobileterminal. The function required for the basic operation may be a turnon/off of a lighting disposed in the display unit 151, a conversion ofthe mobile terminal from an unlock state into a lock state or viceversa, setting of a communication network, changing of settinginformation related to the mobile terminal, and the like.

As such, according to the present disclosure, the controller 180 mayoutput the counting information on the side display when the timecounting is executed, and activate at least one control function of theaforementioned functions after the lapse of the predetermined time.

Hereinafter, description will be given in more detail of the method ofcontrolling the mobile terminal according to the control methodillustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating thecontrol method of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a method ofdisplaying counting information in a mobile terminal in accordance withone exemplary embodiment disclosed herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a home screen page may be output on thedisplay unit 251 of the mobile terminal 200. At least one object may beincluded in the home screen page. The object may be an icon of anapplication installed in the mobile terminal or a widget. The homescreen page may be output on an overall area of the first area 251 a andthe second area 251 b. In addition to the home screen page, the displayunit 251 may output screen information 510, such as an execution screencorresponding to one or more functions, an idle screen, a lock screen orthe like.

Still referring to FIG. 5, in the mobile terminal disclosed herein, whena control command has not been applied for a predetermined time whilethe home screen page is displayed, a lighting of the display unit 251may be turned off. This condition may be represented as ‘the displayunit 251 has been lighted off due to time-out’ or ‘a sleep mode hasstarted (been executed).’

For executing the sleep mode, the controller 180 may execute the timecounting while the screen information 510 is output on the display unit251. When the time counting is started, counting information 520 a to520 c may be output on the second area 251 b.

The time counting for executing the sleep mode may be executed when apreset condition is met. The preset condition may be associated with atleast one of a state of the terminal, an executed application, and auser input. For example, the controller 180 may start the time countingfor deactivating the display unit 151 when the user input has not beenapplied for the predetermined time while the display unit 151 isactivated. That is, to execute the sleep mode, the time counting may bestarted from a time point at which the last user input has been applied.

In addition, when the user input is applied before the predeterminedtime elapses, the controller 180 may reset the time counting which isongoing at the time point that the new user input is applied, andexecute new time counting.

An exemplary embodiment that the time counting is executed in responseto the user input will be explained later with reference to FIG. 7.

Meanwhile, when the time counting is executed, the controller 180 maydivide the display unit 251 into the first area 251 a and the secondarea 251 b, and output counting information on the second area 251 b.And, screen information which has been most recently output on thedisplay unit 251 before the start of the time counting may be displayedon the first area 251 a.

In response to the execution of the time counting, the screeninformation which has been output on the entire area of the display unit251 may be output on the entire area or be reduced to be output on thefirst area 251 a. When the screen information is output on the entirearea, it may be output in a manner of overlapping the countinginformation output on the second area 251 b. On the other hand, when thescreen information is reduced, a content included in the screeninformation may be changed in size according to the size of the firstarea 251 a or a content output on the display unit 251 may be changed.

Meanwhile, the controller 180 may output counting information, whichgradually changes as a time elapses, on the second area 251 b. That is,the controller 180 may visually change the counting information suchthat a counted time (or a remaining time without being counted) can bedisplayed according to the lapse of the time.

Here, the second area 251 b may serve as an axis using a time as avariable such that the gradually-changed counting information can bedisplayed. That is, a lower end of the second area 251 b may correspondto a zero point (hereinafter, referred to as ‘ZP’) at which a controlfunction is executed, and an upper end of the second area 251 b maycorrespond to a max point (hereinafter, referred to as ‘MP’) of a timeto be counted. The second area 251 b may be divided on the unit timebasis. For example, when the max point MP corresponds to 60 seconds andthe unit time is one second, the second area 251 b may be divided into60 sections from the lower end to the upper end.

In a continuous manner, the controller 180 may calculate a current pointCP where the counted time (or the remaining time) is displayed as thecounting is progressing, and display the counting information using thecalculated current point CP. In the aforementioned example, when theremaining time is 10 seconds, a 10^(th) section from the lower end ofthe second area 251 b may be calculated as the current point CP.

For example, referring to FIG. 6, counting information 520 may includeinformation related to an overall execution time of the time counting,namely, a predetermined time (for example, ‘10 seconds’) which iscounted for executing a control function. The predetermined time maymatch the overall section from the max point MP to the zero point ZP. Agraphic object 522 indicating the counted time (or the remaining timewithout being counted) may be displayed on the current point CP of thecounting information 520. According to the lapse of time, the countinginformation 520 output on the display unit 151 may be changed or anoutput position of the graphic object 522 may be changed.

When a bar-type image formed long along the side surface of the terminalis displayed on the second area 251 b, one end of the image may belocated on the current point CP, and moved toward the zero point ZPaccording to the lapse of time.

Meanwhile, the image, the zero point ZP, the max point MP, the currentpoint CP, and the graphic object 522 displayed on the current point CP,which are related to the counting information, may be changed in variousmanners according to embodiments.

Referring back to FIG. 5, when the current point CP displaying thecounted time thereat reaches the zero point ZP (namely, reaching thepredetermined time (or the predetermined time is fully counted), thecontroller 180 may execute a control function for which the timecounting has been executed. For example, the controller 180 maydeactivate the display unit 251 when a user input has not been appliedfor the predetermined time while the counting information is displayedin the activated state of the display unit 251.

In such a manner, the controller 180 may continuously display thecounting information, which is changed according to the lapse of time,for the predetermined time, and after the predetermined time, convertthe display unit 251 into the deactivated state. That is, the controller180 may light off the display unit 251 when the time counting arrives atthe last point (section).

As aforementioned, in the mobile terminal disclosed herein, when thetime counting is executed in the terminal, the counting information forguiding the time counting may be displayed on the second area 251 b forthe predetermined time. When the predetermined time elapses, the controlfunction associated with the time counting may be executed. The countinginformation may be information that the user can typically ideallyrecognize. Accordingly, the controller 180 may provide a more familiaruser experience (UX) to the user. That is, the mobile terminal accordingto the present disclosure may provide the user with a user interfaceenvironment which is more intuitive and relatively simple.

Meanwhile, the time counting may be executed by a user input.Hereinafter, description will be given in detail of a method ofexecuting time counting according to a user input, with reference toFIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of executing time countingin a mobile terminal in accordance with one exemplary embodimentdisclosed herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a touch applied to a side display may besensed while an execution screen is displayed (S710).

The execution screen may refer to screen information, which is output ona display unit 251 as at least one executable function is activated onthe terminal. The execution screen, for example, may be a home screen, alock screen, a graphic user interface (GUI) of a currently-executedapplication, and the like.

The display unit 251 may be defined by a first area 251 a disposed on afront surface of a main body, and a second area 251 b extending from thefirst area 251 a and disposed on side surfaces of the main body. A sidedisplay may correspond to the second area 251 b. The second area 251 bmay have a left area and a right area disposed on the left and rightside surfaces of the terminal, respectively, and the execution screenmay be output on an overall area of the first area 251 a and the secondarea 252 b of the display unit 251.

Here, for allowing a touch input with respect to the first area 251 aand the second area 251 b, the display unit 251 may be provided withtouch sensors for sensing the touch input. The display unit 251 mayoutput visual information which is configured in a form of an image suchas GUI, text, icon and the like. However, the display unit 251 may beconverted into a deactivated state after a lapse of a predetermined timeor in response to an input of a specific control command.

Here, the touch may be sensed on at least one of the left area and theright area. The following description will be given in detail of anexemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, underassumption that the touch is sensed on the right area for the sake ofexplanation.

Afterwards, in response to the sensed touch, the controller 180 mayexecute the time counting associated with the execution screen (S720).

Here, the controller 180 may select a control function to execute basedon the execution screen which is currently output on the display unit251, and execute the time counting for the selected control function.Time counting with respect to a different control function may beexecuted according to an execution screen currently output on thedisplay unit 251. For example, when a touch is sensed while a homescreen page is output, time counting for activating a sleep mode may beexecuted. Also, time counting for providing an alarm may be executedwhen an alarm setting screen for setting the alarm is displayed.

Besides, when the time counting is executed in response to a touchapplied to the second area 251 b while a first execution screen isdisplayed and an application different from an application associatedwith the first execution screen is run, a second execution screen of thedifferent application may be displayed on the first area 251 a. Whilethe second execution screen is displayed on the first area 251 a,counting information displayed on the second area 251 b may be changedaccording to a lapse of time. When the time counting is ended, the firstexecution screen may be displayed on the first area 251 a, instead ofthe second execution screen. That is, a conversion from the secondexecution screen into the first execution screen may be set as a controlfunction.

The controller 180 may calculate a touch point on which the touch hasbeen applied on the second area 251 b, and set a predetermined time as acriterion of the time counting based on the calculated touch point. Forexample, the entire area from the lower end to the upper end of thesecond area 251 b may be divided on the unit time basis, and a timecorresponding to the touch point may be set as the predetermined time.

The controller 180 may display counting information on the second area251 b to inform that the time counting is undergoing, and process afunction associated with the execution screen when the time counting isended. The method of executing the time counting and displaying thecounting information has been illustrated with reference to FIG. 4, sodescription thereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 8 9A, 9B and 10 are exemplary views for illustrating the controlmethod of FIG. 7, which are exemplary views illustrating a control oftime counting using a touch input applied to a side display.

In one example of the control, referring to FIG. 8, when a touch isapplied to the second area 251 b while screen information, such as ahome screen page or the like, is displayed on the display unit 251, timecounting for executing a sleep mode may be started.

In response to the start of the time counting, an image may be generatedon the second area 251 b. The image may be moved down along a lengthwisedirection of the terminal. That is, the movement of the image from theupper end to the lower end of the second area 251 b may inform of thelapse of the time. Here, a remaining time (for example, ‘40 seconds’) tobe counted may be displayed within the image, which may allow the userto be aware of accurate information.

After the lapse of the predetermined time, a control function may beexecuted and the counting information output on the second area 251 bmay disappear.

Referring to FIG. 9A, the mobile terminal according to the one exemplaryembodiment disclosed herein may include a camera (not illustrated) andthe display unit 251, and output an image captured by the camera on thedisplay unit 251. Here, an application associated with the operation ofthe camera may be executed and an execution screen 910 of theapplication may be output on the display unit 251. The execution screen910 may include the camera-captured image, and one or more controlobjects formed to execute a function associated with the cameraoperation.

When a touch is applied to one point of the second area 251 b while theexecution screen 910 is output, the controller 180 may execute timecounting for activating a self-timer. Here, the self-timer may refer toa function of automatically working a shutter when a predetermined timeelapses, and the controller 180 may set the predetermined time based ona touch point of the applied touch. The controller 180 may also displaycounting information 920 guiding the time counting on the second area251 b.

In addition, referring to FIG. 9B, the controller 180 may execute aplurality of time counting based on a plurality of touches applied tothe left and right areas, respectively, in a continuous manner. Therespective areas may display different pieces of counting information930 and 940.

For example, when a first touch is applied to the right area and asecond touch is applied to the left area in a continuous manner, thecontroller 180 may execute a first capturing after a lapse of a firsttime, which corresponds to the point where the first touch has beenapplied, and then execute a second capturing after a lapse of a secondtime which correspond to the point where the second touch has beenapplied. In turn, first counting information related to the firstcapturing may be displayed on the right area and second countinginformation related to the second capturing may be displayed on the leftarea.

The user may execute the self-timer function in such simple manner usingthe edge area of the display unit 251, and intuitively view a capturedtime point based on the counting information which is visually changedaccording to the lapse of the time.

Referring to FIG. 10, an execution screen of an application foroutputting an alarm at a preset time may be output on the display unit251.

Here, the controller 180 may execute time counting for outputting thealarm based on a touch applied to the second area 251 b, on which theexecution screen is output, and display counting information guiding thetime counting on the second area 251 b. When a preset time arrives, thecontroller 180 may generate an output related to at least one ofvisible, audible, tactile and olfactory senses using the configurationincluded in the output unit 150 (see FIG. 1).

Although not illustrated, in various embodiments of setting apredetermined time and executing a control function after the lapse ofthe predetermined time, the time counting according to the presentdisclosure may be executed and counting information may be output.

Meanwhile, the mobile terminal according to the one exemplary embodimentdisclosed herein may display a graphic object for setting apredetermined time to be counted. Hereinafter, description will be givenin detail of a method of displaying the graphic object and setting apredetermined time as a criterion of the time counting based on a userinput, with reference to FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. (a) of FIG. 11, an alarm setting screen for setting analarm may be output as an execution screen on the display unit 251. Thealarm setting screen is merely illustrative for the sake of explanation.However, the present disclosure may be applied to various embodimentswithout being limited to this.

When a touch is sensed on the second area 251 b, referring to (b) ofFIG. 11, a graphic object 1110 may be output on a location correspondingto a touch point of the applied touch so as to display time information(for example, ‘60 minutes’) corresponding to a max point MP.

The graphic object 1110 may include time information (for example, ‘20minutes’) corresponding to the touch point.

Continuously, the controller 180 may set a predetermined time forexecuting time counting based on a user input with respect to thegraphic object 1110. For example, when a touch is applied to the graphicobject 1110, a time (for example, ‘20 minutes’) corresponding to thepoint on which the graphic object 1110 is output may be set as thepredetermined time.

In another example, referring to (c) of FIG. 11, when a drag is appliedto the graphic object 1110, a time corresponding to a point on which thedrag is released may be set as the predetermined time (for example, ‘40minutes’).

Accordingly, the user may conveniently set or reset the predeterminedtime using the graphic object output on the second area.

Although not illustrated, the controller 180 may stop the time countingand control the counting information to be invisible when inputs appliedto the second area in a continuously manner with a time interval aresensed while the counting information is displayed.

Hereinafter, description will be given in detail of a method ofoutputting a plurality of pieces of counting information on the displayunit 251 of the mobile terminal according to the one exemplaryembodiment disclosed herein, with reference to FIG. 12.

FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C are views illustrating a method of displaying aplurality of counting information in a mobile terminal in accordancewith one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 12A, the display unit 251 may include a secondarea 1222, 1224 for outputting counting information, and a first area1210 for outputting screen information, which has been most recentlyoutput on the display unit 251 before the counting information isoutput.

The second area may include at least one of an upper end, a lower end, aright end, and a left end corresponding to edges of the display unit251. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, a method of outputting aplurality of pieces of counting information using the exemplaryembodiment in which the second area is provided with the left area 1222and the right area 1224 will be described in detail. However, thepresent disclosure may not be limited to this.

When the second area is provided with the left area 1222 and the rightarea 1224 disposed on the left and right side surfaces of the terminalmain body, respectively, the left area 1222 and the right area 1224 maybe disposed to be spaced apart from each other. The counting informationmay be output at least one of the left area 1222 and the right area1224.

Meanwhile, the mobile terminal according to the one exemplary embodimentmay output a plurality of pieces of counting information on the secondarea. The plurality of counting information may show time countingassociated with one or more control functions.

For example, referring to FIG. 12B, the plurality of pieces of countinginformation may guide time counting associated with one controlfunction. When the predetermined time is “5 minutes” and the timecounting has progressed to “one minute and one second,” the remainingtime without being counted may correspond to “3 minutes and 59 seconds.”Here, counting information on the minute basis may be output as firstcounting information 1232 on the left area and counting information onthe second basis may be output as second counting information 1234 onthe right area.

In another example, referring to FIG. 12C, each of the plurality ofcounting information may guide time counting associated with a differentcontrol function. First counting information 1242 guiding an executionof a first control function after a first predetermined time may beoutput on the left area, and second counting information 1244 guiding anexecution of a second control function after a second predetermined timemay be output on the right area. That is, according to the firstcounting information 1242, the first control function may be executed“34 seconds” later from the moment (or a current time point), and thesecond control function may be executed “49 seconds” later from themoment (or a current time point). Here, information related to a controlfunction to be executed may be output along with the countinginformation.

Meanwhile, in the mobile terminal according to the one exemplaryembodiment disclosed herein, the controller 180 may change a set valuerelated to counting information, which has been output based on a userinput with respect to the counting information. Hereinafter, a method ofchanging counting information in the mobile terminal will be describedin detail with reference to FIGS. 13A, 13B, 14A and 14B.

As illustrated in FIG. 13A, the controller 180 may output countinginformation on at least a portion of the second area of the display unit251. The counting information may be varied according to a lapse of timefor a predetermined time. For example, the counting information may be aprogress bar which matches an overall section of the predetermined time.That is, the counting information may include information related to anentire time to be counted, a counted time and/or a remaining timewithout being counted.

While the counting information is output, a user input may be applied tothe counting information. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13A, atleast one point may be selected from the counting information. Thecontroller 180 may select at least one point of the counting informationbased on a touch input applied to the counting information output on thedisplay unit 251. The controller 180 may display a touch object 1330indicating the selected point on the counting information.

At least one point may correspond to a specific time of an entire timeto be counted. That is, when a touch input is applied to the countinginformation, the controller 180 may decide a specific time correspondingto the touch-applied point. For example, when a max point is set to 60seconds, the controller 180 may decide a time corresponding to thetouch-applied time within the range of 60 seconds to 0 second.

Next, the controller 180 may reset a time to be counted (or a remainingtime) for executing a control function, based on a touch input. Forexample, when a preset time is 60 seconds and a remaining time to becounted is 5 seconds, a touch input may be applied to a pointcorresponding to 30 seconds. At this time, the controller 180 may resetthe remaining time for executing the control function from 5 seconds to30 seconds. In addition, counting information output on the display unit251 may be changed based on the reset time. That is, the countinginformation may vary according to a length of the reset remaining time(1320 a→1320 b).

In another example related to a user input, referring to FIG. 13B,counting information may include a graphic object 1340 which indicates atime to be counted (or a remaining time).

Here, a user input which continuously moves the graphic object 1340 froma first output position to a second position may be applied. In thisstate, the controller 180 may decide a specific time corresponding tothe second position, and reset the remaining time for executing acontrol function to the decided time.

The controller 180 may also reset a predetermined time (or an overalltime range of counting information, starting from a start point to anend point) as well as the remaining time to be counted, based on a userinput.

For example, as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 14A, when a pinch-out (firstand second touches are applied and at least one of the first and secondtouches is moving far away from an initially-applied point) is appliedto counting information, the controller 180, as illustrated in (b) ofFIG. 14A, may reset a predetermined time included in the countinginformation from “10 seconds” to “5 seconds.” The controller 180 mayreduce the predetermined time in proportion to a distance that the firstand second touches are far away from each other in view of thepinch-out.

In another example, as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 14B, a pinch-in (firstand second touches are applied and at least one of the first and secondtouches is moving close to the other one from an initially-appliedpoint) is applied to counting information, the controller 180, asillustrated in (b) of FIG. 14B, may reset a predetermined time includedin the counting information from “10 seconds” to “20 seconds.” Thecontroller 180 may increase the predetermined time in proportion to adistance that the first and second touches are close each other in viewof the pinch-in.

In one exemplary embodiment of changing a set value related to countinginformation, under a state that a max point MP is set to 60 seconds anda remaining time to be counted is 20 seconds, a user may reset theremaining time to 120 seconds. The resetting method may be explained asfollows. First, the user may reset the time of the max point MP from 60seconds to a time longer than 120 seconds in a pinch-in manner. And, theuser may reset the remaining time to be counted to 120 seconds byapplying a touch to a point corresponding to 120 seconds. Accordingly,the controller 180 may execute a control function related to anoperation of the terminal after 120 seconds, other than 20 seconds.

Meanwhile, a mobile terminal illustrated in FIG. 15 may further includea cover for covering a front surface of a main body, and output countinginformation in a different manner according to a state of the cover.Hereinafter, description will be given of an embodiment of including acover for covering a front surface of a display unit in a mobileterminal having the display unit partially bent.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a method of outputting countinginformation in a mobile terminal having a display unit partially bent inaccordance with one exemplary embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, a display unit 251 disposed on a frontsurface of a main body may be partially bent to be formed on sidesurfaces of the main body. That is, the display unit 251 may include aside area disposed on the side surfaces and a front area disposed on thefront surface. The side and front areas may be connected into a shapewithout a physical boundary.

The mobile terminal 100 may include a cover 1510 which is rotatablycoupled to the main body between a first state of being disposed tocover the front surface of the main body and a second state of beingdisposed in parallel to the front surface. When the cover 1510 is placedin the first state, the front surface of the display unit 251 may beshielded by the cover 1510.

The controller 180 may be provided with a sensing unit on the frontsurface of the main body, to sense whether or not the cover 1510 is laidin the first state. When the cover 1510 corresponds to the first state,the controller 180 may deactivate the display unit 251 to increasebattery efficiency.

Meanwhile, time counting related to a terminal operation may be executedin the first state. For example, when a control function, such as “gooff the alarm 1 hour later” has been set, the controller 180 may executetime counting, irrespective of the state of the cover 1510. Here, whenthe cover 1510 is laid in the first state, the controller 180 may outputcounting information on the side area of the display unit 251, anddeactivate the front area of the display unit 251. That is, thecontroller 180 may partially activate or deactivate the display unit251.

In such a manner, the user may check counting information using the sidearea of the display unit 251 even in the state that the front area ofthe display unit 251 is shielded by the cover. In addition, by employingthe aforementioned methods illustrated in FIGS. 13A, 13B, 14A and 14B,the user may change, in an easy fast manner, a set value related to thecounting information displayed on the side area of the display unit 251.

In the meantime, in a mobile terminal according to one exemplaryembodiment, time counting may be executed based on a touch applied to asecond area, counting information for guiding the time counting may beoutput, and setting information for guiding a set value related to anexecution screen output on the display unit 251 may be displayed basedon a touch applied to the second area. Hereinafter, a method of changinga set value related to an execution screen will be described in detailwith reference to FIGS. 16A to 16C.

First, the controller 180 may output an execution screen, on the displayunit 251, in response to an execution of one or more functions.Afterwards, when a touch is applied to the second area 251 b of thefirst and second areas 251 a and 251 b of the display unit 251, asillustrated in FIG. 16A, setting information (for example, “50%”) forguiding a set value related to the execution screen may be output.

The set value related to the execution screen, for example, may be atleast one of brightness of the display unit 151, audio output strengthof the audio output module 153, a scale of a map, a zoom of a camera,and strength of vibration. The setting information may be changed invarious manners based on an executed function and an execution screen ofthe function.

Here, the setting information may be output on the second area 251 b ina shape of a progress bar, as similar to the counting informationillustrated in FIG. 4.

Also, in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 14, theembodiment of changing the set value related to the counting informationmay be equally applied even to the setting information output on thesecond area 251 b. That is, the controller 180 may change a valuerelated to the setting information based on a touch input applied to thesecond area 251 b while the setting information is displayed on thesecond area 251 b.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16A, when a touch is applied to thesecond area 251 b while an execution screen is output, the controller180 may display setting information (50%) related to brightness of theexecution screen. Also, the controller 180 may change (50%→20%) the setvalue related to the brightness of the execution screen based on atleast one of a touch and a drag applied to the second area 251 b, andthen output information (20%) related to the changed set value on thesecond area 251 b.

Meanwhile, the controller 180, as illustrated in FIG. 16B, may change aset value related to an execution screen output on the display unit 251,immediately in response to a touch applied to the second area 251 b.That is, when a touch is sensed on the second area 251 b, the controller180 may change a value related to the execution screen based on thetouch point, and output information (20%) related to the changed setvalue on the second area 251 b. Here, a lower end of the second area 251b may correspond to a value of “0%” of the set value, and an upper endthereof may correspond to a value of “100%” of the set value. The valuescorresponding to the lower and upper ends may vary in various manners.

The second area 251 b may be provided with a left area and a right area,and the left area and the right area may be set as areas for changingdifferent set values. For example, the left area, as illustrated in FIG.16B, may correspond to an area for changing a set value related tobrightness of the display unit 251, and the right area, as illustratedin 16C, may correspond to an area for changing a set value related tooutput strength of the audio output module 251. In another example,while a video is played back, the controller 180 may adjust brightnessof the video using a touch applied to the left area, and adjust a volumeof a sound using a touch applied to the right area.

As described above, a mobile terminal according to the presentdisclosure may provide appropriate information according to a state ofthe mobile terminal, and change a related set value, thereby enhancinguser convenience.

Also, when time counting is executed in relation to an operation of amobile terminal according to one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein,counting information related to the time counting may be provided in achanging manner according to a lapse of a time. Therefore, the user mayuse a user interface which allows for briefly checking the time countingprogressing in the mobile terminal.

In addition, a mobile terminal according to one exemplary embodimentdisclosed herein may execute a control function after a preset timeelapses, in response to a touch applied to an edge area of a displayunit. That is, a timer mode in which a function is executed after apredetermined time may be executed by a simple touch operation.Therefore, the user may activate the timer mode merely by touching onepoint of the edge area of the display unit. Here, the executed controlfunction may be changed according to an application which has beenexecuted before the touch is applied.

In this manner, front and side display units may operate cooperative toeach other, so as to provide a new type of user convenience.

Further, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure,the aforementioned methods can be implemented as computer-readable codesin a program-recorded medium. The computer-readable medium may includeall types of recording devices each storing data readable by a computersystem. Examples of such computer-readable media may include ROM, RAM,CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage element and thelike. Also, the computer-readable medium may also be implemented as aformat of carrier wave (e.g., transmission via an Internet).

The configurations and methods of the mobile terminal and the controlmethod thereof in the aforesaid embodiments may not be limitedlyapplied, but such embodiments may be configured by a selectivecombination of all or part of the embodiments so as to implement manyvariations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile terminal comprising: a body having afront surface and side surfaces physically distinct from the frontsurface; a display having a first display area disposed on or in thefront surface, and a second display area extending from the firstdisplay area and disposed on or in at least one side surface of the sidesurfaces, the display configured to display an execution screen on thefirst display area in response to an execution of a function; and acontroller operatively connected to the display and configured toexecute a time counting associated with the execution screen when atouch is applied to the second display area while the execution screenis displayed, display counting information on the second display arearegarding a progress of the time counting, and process the functionrelated to the execution screen when the time counting is completed. 2.The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: set apredetermined time based on a touch point of the touch applied to thesecond display area, and execute the time counting for the setpredetermined time.
 3. The terminal of claim 2, wherein the controlleris further configured to: display an image corresponding to the setpredetermined time on the second display area; gradually change a sizeof the image as the predetermined time elapses; and display a numbercorresponding to a remaining amount of the predetermined time within theimage as the predetermined time elapses.
 4. The terminal of claim 3,wherein the image is processed in a different manner according to thetouch point.
 5. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the second display areacomprises a left display area and a right display area disposed on leftand right side surfaces of the body, respectively, and the countinginformation is displayed on at least one of the left display area andthe right display area.
 6. The terminal of claim 5, wherein while firstcounting information corresponding to a first function is displayed onone of the left display area and the right display area, the controllerdisplays second counting information corresponding to a second functionon the other of the left display area and the right display area when anew touch is applied to the other of the left display area and the rightdisplay area.
 7. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising: a cameradisposed on the body, wherein the execution screen is an executionscreen for executing a function related to the camera, wherein the timecounting is a time counting for executing a self-timer related to thecamera, and wherein the function is an image capture function.
 8. Theterminal of claim 1, wherein the execution screen is an execution screenfor executing a function related to an alarm set by the controller, andwherein the time counting is a time counting for executing the alarm 9.The terminal of claim 1, wherein, when an application which is differentfrom an application associated with the execution screen is activatedwhile the counting information is displayed, an execution screen of thedifferent application displayed on the first display area.
 10. Theterminal of claim 1, wherein, when touch inputs, which are continuouslyapplied to the second display area with a time interval, are sensed, thecontroller stops the time counting and does not display the countinginformation.
 11. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the first display areais deactivated and the counting information is continuously displayed onthe second display area when the front surface is covered with an objectwhile the counting information is displayed.
 12. A mobile terminalcomprising: a body having a front surface and side surfaces physicallydistinct from the front surface; a display having a first display areadisposed on or in the front surface, and a second display area extendingfrom the first display area and disposed on or in at least one sidesurface of the side surfaces; and a controller operatively connected tothe display and configured to display counting information regarding aprogress of time counting on the second display area for a predeterminedtime when the time counting is started in relation to a terminaloperation, and execute a control function related to the terminaloperation when the time counting is completed.
 13. The terminal of claim12, wherein the controller is configured to visually change thedisplayed counting information in cooperation with a counted time. 14.The terminal of claim 13, wherein the counting information is changedaccording to a length of the counted time.
 15. The terminal of claim 12,wherein the second display area comprises a left display area and aright display area disposed on left and right side surfaces of the body,respectively, and the counting information is displayed on at least oneof the left display area and the right display area.
 16. The terminal ofclaim 15, wherein the counting information comprises first countinginformation and second counting information, each of which is countedfor a different time and corresponds to a different control function,and wherein the first counting information and the second countinginformation are displayed on the left display area and the right displayarea, respectively.
 17. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the countinginformation corresponds to a remaining time to be counted for executingthe control function, and wherein the controller resets the remainingtime based on a touch point of a touch that is applied to the seconddisplay area while the counting information is displayed.
 18. Theterminal of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to reset thepredetermined time when a pinch-in or a pinch-out input is applied tothe second display area while the counting information is displayed. 19.The terminal of claim 12, wherein the terminal operation is a sleep modefor the display; and wherein the control function deactivates thedisplay when the time counting is completed.
 20. A mobile terminalcomprising: a body having a front surface and side surfaces physicallydistinct from the front surface; a display having a first display areadisposed on or in the front surface, and a second display area extendingfrom the first display area and disposed on or in at least one sidesurface of the side surfaces, the display configured to display anexecution screen on the first display area in response to an executionof a function; and a controller operatively connected to the display andconfigured to change a set value related to the execution screen basedon a touch point of a touch that is applied to the second display areawhile the execution screen is displayed, and display information relatedto the changed set value on the second display area.